get the hang of

Definitions

To begin to understand or manage at a basic level; to learn to handle with some skill.

colloquial, idiomatic

Equivalents

9 more languages

Suomipäästä jyvälle

Gàidhligthig suas ri

Magyarkapiskál

Italianoprenderci la mano con

Nederlandsiets doorhebbeniets onder de knie beginnen te krijgensnappen hoe het werkt

Polskiotrzaskać

Portuguêspegar a manhapegar o jeito

Русскийналовчиться

Türkçekavramak

Examples

“Driving feels awkward when you’re new to it, but it’s easy once you get⟳ the hang⟳ of it.”

“We got the hang⟳ of [caring for a baby], Kate and I, with some quiet, surprising guidance from a gentle male nurse whose touching lack of intrusion was so instinctive as to seem part of the pattern.”

“He felt like⟳ he was playing a new board⟳ game and was just getting the hang⟳ of the rules.”

“I'd hardly used them either, do you know⟳ what I mean⟳; I was just getting the hang⟳ of them when the Lord and Master decided they had to come⟳ off. There was no consultation, no let's sit⟳ down and chat about the pros and cons, just woof, off with his bollocks.”

“The shotlist should be short — if you find⟳ yourself typing up more than one page per scene, you're not really getting the hang⟳ of it. Use⟳ common terminology whenever possible. From the shotlist, the DP can figure⟳ out, to some extent, how many lighting changes each scene will require⟳.”

“But just when I thought I’d gotten the hang⟳ of things, a snake chased me into a deeper level of the labyrinth! Everything’s on hard mode down here.”

CEFR level